He was a boy adventurer… until he lost his powers and had to grow up real fast. Now, Andy wants an answer - what went wrong?
A one-shot 48-page comic that writer Kieron Gillen touts as a "beautiful and human post-deconstructionist superheroes in the mode of Astro City" and writer J.M. DeMatteis calls a "cosmic romp with a sharp sense of humor and great group of characters."
Awesome powers? Adventures all over the world? Andy Xenon was the boy hero every kid wished they could be! But then he turned 18 and those powers vanished. No more adventures. What happened? Why? Never getting any explanations, Andy resigned to life as a normal guy… and it’s a quiet misery. Nobody believes he used to be Andy Xenon. People have moved on to new adventurers and, each year, fewer even remember Andy, at all...
But one person hasn’t forgotten. A journalist has tracked Andy down for a soul-searching interview. At last, he can set the record straight, review his reckless youth with hard-earned wisdom… and maybe figure out what went wrong. Is it too late for answers? Or can Andy earn a second chance? With your pledge, we can share REMEMBER ANDY XENON? with the world and join Andy on one off-beat journey of redemption and see how sometimes the end of a story is only just the beginning.
Preview
“Super Edition” Nikos Koutsis Cover / “Mega Edition” Brent Schoonover Variant / “Ultra Edition” Freddie Williams II Variant
Some interior pages:
Bios
Tom Pinchuk – Writer/Creator: A man of duality, Tom has charted the adventures of world-famous kid heroes like Cartoon Network’s BEN 10 and Mattel’s MAX STEEL while also crafting mature audience comics for HEAVY METAL MAGAZINE, among other outlets. He swears REMEMBER ANDY XENON? will reconcile these contradictions, at last. Tom has written for television, comics and everything in-between and, before moving to Los Angeles, dwelled everywhere from Singapore to Syracuse. He delights in obstacle races, escape rooms, recounting his “breathtaking” loss to a future U.F.C. fighter at a Jiu-Jitsu tournament and in masterminding increasingly elaborate, diabolical April Fools Day pranks.
Nikos Koutsis – Illustrator/Creator: Located in Athens, Greece, Nikos is the co-creator of ERRAND BOYS (Image), and artist on Erik Larsen’s MIGHTY MAN (Image) and Hasbro's STRETCH ARMSTRONG (IDW). He’s been the colorist on SAVAGE DRAGON since 2008 and colored more than 3,500 pages for Image and IDW so far, claiming that the night is still young! It's really a mystery how he manages to have a life as a family man, teach as a Sequential Arts Professor at Vakalo College of Art and Design, or maintain a good shape for himself! (Or at least this is what he thinks he’s doing)
Eva de la Cruz – Colorist: Eva has enjoyed nearly two decades in the industry working with companies such as 2000AD, Vertigo, DC Comics, Dark Horse, IDW, Scholastic and, currently, After Shock.
A Larger World Studios – Lettering: Troy Peteri and Dave Lanphear (who also was Graphic Designer for the project) have lettered a zillion comics from AMAZING SPIDER-MAN to WITCHBLADE, and a lot of BATMAN (because there can never be enough of those, as far as Troy is concerned). They also draw, write and enjoy carbs too much.
Guest artists contributing to the'We Remember Andy Xenon' companion piece included within the 48-pg. comic:
Alfa Robbi (A.K.A.“Sharknob”) [ MAX STEEL, VOLTRON FORCE, MONSUNO ]
Patrick McEvoy[ Clients include Blizzard, Wizards of the Coast and Marvel Entertainment ]
Joe Suitor[ Clients include Paramount, Warner Bros. and NBCUniversal ]
Lesley Vamos [ Clients include Harper, Walker, Macmillan ]
Charles Paul Wilson III[ THE STUFF OF LEGEND, X-FILES, NINJA TURTLES ]
Our Mission
From BEN 10 to MAX STEEL and STRETCH ARMSTRONG, Tom and Nikos have charted many world-famous kid heroes’ adventures. Call us experts of the genre. But after meeting a lot of their young adult fans, we noticed something. Many were frustrated by series reboots – feeling like they’d grown up with characters for years only to be passed over for younger generations, with new branding stressing that they'd "aged out" as an audience. It made us think... well, what if this type of hero aged out, too? Could more grown up stories work?
The answer, of course, is yes. The Death of Captain Marvel. Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow. Astro City. All these comics inspired us by taking past generations’ heroes – characters often dismissed as kids stuff – and pushing them into profound new territory. Taking on a similar creative challenge for REMEMBER ANDY XENON? was too enticing to ignore. It felt like such a fitting, and fun, way to give back to fans.
As we charted Andy’s misadventures, we found plenty of poignant analogies – between characters and their fans, between heroes and everyday people. Whoever you are, growing up is all about navigating life’s ups and downs, and we put Andy through some real tough ones in this comic. We think you’ll find this promising kid who got passed over and replaced, -- who could really use a second shot – more relatable than you’d even expect. Join us on this journey and let’s push this type of hero into profound new territory together.
Format
Another charm of the comics that inspired us above is that they aren’t sprawling epics. Most are self-contained one-shots. We had to capture such poetic focus. Introduce a character and world who feel like they’ve got lots of history behind them, but aren’t asking anybody to do homework before reading, nor hang on ‘til months later for the good stuff.
So… REMEMBER ANDY XENON? is all here in one go. Beginning. Middle. End. Nothing held back.
Thing is... original one-shots don’t really fit into most publishing brackets. Go that route and we might have to pad this out – and that’s not the comic we want to make. So, again, if fans inspired us to create this, why not go straight to them? With this campaign, we can make the comic we want to make, the way we want to make it, and take it directly to the people we want reading it.
Praise
"Beautiful and human post-deconstructionist superheroes in the mode of Astro City." - Kieron Gillen (Star Wars, Eternals, the Wicked + the Divine)
“Tom Pinchuk’s Remember Andy Xenon? is a cosmic romp with a sharp sense of humor and great group of characters, all brought to energetic visual life by Nikos Koutsis.” - J.M. DeMatteis (Justice League International, Kraven's Last Hunt, Moonshadow)
"Energetic, clever and sharply observed -- meaning Remember Andy Xenon? contains all the trademarks of a Tom Pinchuk comic."
- Tim Seeley (Batman Eternal, Guardians of the Galaxy: Best Story Ever, Hack/Slash)
“Everyone wonders where the hot new comics property will come from and look to publishers, trends in subject matter, cool promotions, or innovative formats. Instead, I look to the creators doing exciting work. Tom Pinchuk is always at the forefront of that movement. So, don’t ask me which book is going to be the new hotness, ask me where Tom Pinchuk is right now.”
- Phil Hester (Green Arrow, Wonder Woman)
“This fun-house mirror tale of a superhero and his origin story blasts onto the scene with full-throttle action, sly humor and genuine heart. Remember Andy Xenon? is unforgettable.”
- Julia Lewald (X-Men: the Animated Series, Transformers: Robot in Disguise)
"...an action-packed and beautifully pieced-together story... [with] youthful spiritedness throughout..."
- Pastrami Nation
“We've all dreamt of what we would do with super powers, but have you ever thought about having them taken away? Great story, fantastic art and rich backmatter…”
- LRM Online: The Comics Source
"This is a must-have to add to your comic reading list."
- That Hashtag Show
"Superhero sc-ifi action of the fourth kind! If you like your comics amped with pure FUN, look no further. The bus stops at Andy Xenon's house."
The book’s all done. Each page of the 32-page comic? Done. Every bit of the 16-page companion piece? Done. All the covers and variants? Done. Everything. So, no need to fret about those being completed on schedule.
Digital rewards will be delivered soon after the campaign’s completion, so anybody dying to read Andy’s story right away will be able to on their devices of choice. Printing and shipping should take around three months, so delivery of rewards is expected to be done by December. This is independent publishing, so this step takes a little longer than with mainstream comics, but since this independent publishing, we’ve also been able to take our time to carefully craft a book instead of rushing to meet a monthly deadline. We’ve created a reading experience fans will be able to savor and find more to appreciate with each re-read.
Still, the pandemic has shown that certain conditions are simply out of anybody’s hands. The case of that freight ship getting stuck in a canal early this year was also an example of an accident that could interfere with shipment and delivery, for example, since we’re printing overseas. Chances are remote, but there’s still no predicting such circumstances. However, Zoop will always be here to communicate with backers should any delays occur, or if there’s confusion about delivery, or any other concerns that may come up.